The filed record
Request the Federal Government to Restore 100 Percent of the Funding to Shelter and Support Refugee Claimants - by Councillor Alejandra Bravo, seconded by Councillor Lily Cheng
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The decision
2025-07-23 · Toronto City Council · adopted
As filed
City Council on July 23 and 24, 2025, adopted the following: 1. City Council reiterate its previous requests to the Federal Government to: a. reverse the decision to wind-down the Interim Housing Assistance Program and continue providing support for municipalities for 100 percent of the cost of providing shelter for refugee claimants; and b. establish a coordinated national system for responding to arrivals of refugee claimants.
On the agenda
As the city filed it
Since 2017, the federal government has spent $1.1 billion housing asylum claimants in hotels and provided an additional $1.5 billion to provinces and cities through the Interim Housing Assistance Program. While these supports have helped relieve pressures in the City's shelter system, there is an ongoing, pressing need for the federal leadership to develop a coordinated national response to refugee claimant arrivals.
Show the rest of As the city filed it, 870 more characters as filed
A recent briefing paper from the Federal Government said: "While the provision of housing and supports to asylum claimants falls under provincial/territorial (PT)/municipal responsibility, as an emergency response, the federal government began to backstop overwhelmed shelters by directly running hotels in 2017." This is a concerning perspective in light of the planned scale-back of federal support for municipalities to provide services and shelters for asylum claimants. This is a national issue and needs both a national plan and ongoing funding to support asylum claimants in Canada. Given the Federal government's delay in responding to the City's Interim Housing Assistance Program funding application, alongside recent comments in the media, this motion urgently requests commitment from the Federal government to continue supporting Toronto's refugee response.
Staff recommended
Councillor Alejandra Bravo, seconded by Councillor Lily Cheng, recommends that: 1. City Council reiterate its previous requests for the Federal Government to: a. reverse the decision to wind-down the Interim Housing Assistance Program and continue providing support for municipalities for 100 percent of the cost of providing shelter for refugee claimants, and b. establish a coordinated national system for responding to arrivals of refugee claimants.
On the record
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